Hot Rails/Vintage Rails/Cool Rails vs Injector/Area 67/Injector

[GuitarStv]

Talk to me about these two sets of pickups. Seems they're both kinda a take on a similar thing.

Beefy bridge and powerful neck for two higher gain lead tones, low output middle so you get that and in-between stuff for clean and funky sounds. Seems like the injectors are probably a little closer to regular single coils and the rails set more like an HSH setup. Anyone with experience with both sets who can give me more specifics about 'em?

 

[PFDarkside]

I have the Injector set in my main Strat. It doesn’t sound anything like the rails. It’s hotter and darker than a Strat, buts definitely still a Strat. I use it for the cover band thing and with a distortion pedal I do all the way to heavy rock, but it sounds like a punchy fat Strat. With the gain back it’s like a Strat but with a safety net, if that makes sense.

The Rails do their own thing. The Hot Rails is thick and hot, I used it for punk, rock, pop punk type stuff. Almost like a full size Humbucker. I like them both a lot, but they do different things. I assumed the Injectors would be more like the rails as well, but they still have that Strat “wirey” sound. Of course, fully noiseless.

 

[Mincer]

Hot Rails/Vintage Rails/Cool Rails is absolutely more of a true HSH setup.

 

[GuitarStv]

Hmmm . . . so are the injectors kinda like Dimarzio's take on Duncan's STK-S7 then? I figured they would be a bit more aggressive, given Paul Gilbert's association with them.

 

[PFDarkside]

Hmmm . . . so are the injectors kinda like Dimarzio's take on Duncan's STK-S7 then? I figured they would be a bit more aggressive, given Paul Gilbert's association with them.

Hotter, noiseless singles, yes. I was expecting them to be more like the Hot Rails but with Strat appearance but I think the magnet pole pieces push it toward the hot Strat sound.

 

[beaubrummels]

I just have an Injector neck in the middle of my Jackson right now and it sounds like the mid position of my Les Paul. Kind of saved the middle position of my 'Strat' type and made it way more usable. It's in between a strat and a humbucker sound. I think it's more of a humbucker sound, but the scale length of the Jackson adds in some amount of twang and brings it back into Strat territory.

 

[Teleplayer]

Injector bridge pickup is a mid heavy pickup. IMO it isn't very strat like on its own. The Ducan STK-S7 is more versatile and quite a lot brighter in the top end.

Maybe the "heavy blues 2" (which I have not tried) would be a better option from Dimarzio if you are looking for something versatile.

Otherwise use the Duncan STK-S7 bridge and the Area 67 is a good combination, as far as being strat-like.